Holopaw on stage Feb. 14 in The Floridian

Formed in Gainesville in 2001, Holopaw is a six-piece indie band comprised of John Orth, Jeffrey Hays, Jeff McMullen, Patrick Quinney, Ryan Quinney and Matt Radick.

On Feb. 14, the guys make their way to The Floridian for a late night Valentine’s Day show with openers Telepathic Lines.

The band just released their latest album, “Academy Songs, Volume I,” on Misra Records. Compass caught up with Holopaw frontman John Orth as the band was preparing to hit the road for a show in Baltimore, Md.

Compass: So you guys are playing in Baltimore tonight?

John Orth: Ya, we’re joining up with [the band] Love As Laughter tonight. It will be our first show with them, which we’re really excited about.

Compass: And the Baltimore Ravens won the Super Bowl last night, so everyone in the audience will be stoked about that.

J.O.: Ya, we figured there’d be less couches burning in the street [laughs]. I don’t know if anybody will be in any shape to come out to a show, but we’ll see and it’s a Monday night – we’ll see, we’ll see. You never know.

Compass: I know the band’s no stranger to St. Augustine, but tell me a bit about your experiences in The Nation’s Oldest City.

J.O.: We’re from Gainesville and so we all have many connections to St. Augustine. We’re good friends with the people at The Floridian and we’re so happy to be playing there and we’re so proud of them. Otherwise, Café Eleven has been one of our favorite places to play over the past several years and we’ve got a friend that has a beach house in very close proximity to Café Eleven. So we’ve had many storied nights where we’ve played there and then gone and swam in the ocean. The beach house is also where we were able to record our last record. That was a really magical week recording through long days and into the night, swimming in the ocean and making fish tacos and homemade ice cream. It was pretty much amazing.

Compass: So how has the new record been received?

J.O.: It’s sort of just at the beginning of the press cycle. On the whole, I think it’s been received really well. And playing the new songs live we seem to be getting a really good response. So we’re feeling good about it. We’re really excited about our new label, Misra [Records]. Our contact there just came down for our tour kick-off show and that was the first time that we’d actually met him and so that’s great. He’s a wildly enthusiastic man that’s committed to having everybody hear this record.

Compass: What’s it like playing this new material that not a lot of people have heard yet in a live setting?

J.O.: Well, I guess the new songs are ones that we are really excited to play right now and so I think that that trumps any expectation that somebody might know it or sing along or might not have a connection to it yet. I think there’s just this feeling of excitement in playing for people who have been fans of ours for a while. There’s a different energy behind it for sure, but maybe a better energy because we’re committed to making sure that we play them well.

Holopaw performs with Telepathic Lines on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 10:30 p.m. at The Floridian, 39 Cordova St. Admission is $8.